Are the 12 Days of Dionysus the Ancient Greek Origins of Christmas?

 

 

Could the twelve Days of Dionysus, a no-holds-barred celebration of the birth of the Greek god of wine and fertility, be the source of what we now know today as Christmas?

Held just after the winter solstice, in the second half of the ancient Greek month of Poseidon,  the highlight of the celebration is the epiphany of the God Dionysus to the people.

 

 

There are many ancient mid-winter rituals, feasts and celebrations from various cultures which have been incorporated into the Christian Christmas of today.

However the Dionysian festival of ancient Greece has by far the most corresponding aspects.

 

The Winter Solstice

 

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When delving into the origins of Christmas, the first thing inevitably encountered is the connection between Christmas and the Winter Solstice.

This is the longest night, of the year which occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21^st.

Since the beginning of time the Winter Solstice, the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun, has been a time for wild parties, rituals, excessive drinking and feasts, a time when all inhibitions fly out the window!

 Sound familiar?

It sounds a lot like Christmas to me!

 

The Emergence of Christianity

 

 

The emergence of Christianity put a stop to a great number of these unseemly pagan shenanigans.

In some cases they simply carried on under another name.

For example take April Fool’s Day, which originated as the Saturnalia, an ancient festival in honour of the god Saturn (Greek god Cronus) and St. Valentine’s Day once known as the ancient Festival of the Arcadian Lykaia (In Latin, the Lupercalia).

Is this what happened with the Dionysia, the celebration of Dionysus and his cult, who practiced monotheism, the worship of only one god?

 Did the twelve day celebration of his birth become the twelve days of Christmas?

Maybe yes maybe no but there’s a story behind everything so they say!

 

Who is Dionysus?

 

 

Dionysus is the ancient Greek god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, fertility, orchards and fruit, vegetation, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity and theatre.

As you can see, he had a lot on his plate!

He was known by the Romans as Bacchus and the frenzy induced by him is bakkheia.

Dionysus also went by the name Eleutherios, Greek for liberator (Liber by the Romans), this was owing to the sense of freedom experienced by his followers which was brought about by his wine, music and ecstatic dance.

Another of the many names Dionysus went by was Dendritēs , he of the tree, or Endendros, he who is in the tree, as he was closely linked to trees, especially the fig tree.

Followed by his entourage of nymphs, Maenads” (from the Greek maenades, meaning mad or demented) and satyrs, Dionysus is  drawn in a chariot by exotic beasts such as lions, tigers, or panthers.

He is sometimes attended by the drunken satyr named Silenus and he is usually seen wearing a panther or leopard skin and carrying his thyrsus; a pinecone-topped magic wand.

Dionysus was a god of resurrection, strongly linked to the bull, and is frequently portrayed with bull horns.

The snake and phallus were also symbols of Dionysus in ancient Greece and Rome.

 

 

From where Dionysus originated is a bit of a mystery.

Most sources have him as Greek, born in Thrace, although many academics in the nineteenth century regarded Dionysus as a foreign god whilst others state he was born in Crete.

The earliest written records of Dionysus come from Mycenaean Greece in around 1300 BC making him one of ancient Greece’s oldest gods.

He was also one of the most popular gods of his time and by the seventh century BC the cult of Dionysus was firmly established and growing stronger by the day.

Dionysus was married to Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, whom he came across sleeping on the island of Naxos where  Theseus had abandoned her after killing the Minotaur.

   Ariadne bore him a son named Oenopion, who either took his own life or was killed by Perseus, founder of Mycenae and the Perseid dynasty.

 

 

The cult of Dionysus and the Dionysian Mysteries

 

The Dionysian Mysteries began as a simple run of the mill celebration as were practiced all over ancient Greece but they quickly developed into a popular mystery cult which then spread to ancient Rome, via the Greek colonies of southern Italy.

The original cult of Dionysus was a wine cult, focusing on the grapevine and its life cycle, believed to have embodied the living god and the wine it produced was thought of as the essence of god.

The intoxication and the sense of being free of inhibitions after consuming a glass or three was proof that you had been possessed by God’s spirit.

 

 

The Dionysian festivals also known as Bacchanal could be called the rave parties of ancient Greece.

The copious amounts of wine knocked back, trance-inducing music, strange herbs ingested and wild singing and dancing all produced a state of complete abandon and a total lack of inhibition.

 These mad affairs continued throughout the Mediterranean until they were brought to a stop by Christianization.

 

 

As it was a mystery cult, similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries for initiates only, many aspects of the Dionysian cult are unknown but they probably surfaced in Minoan Crete from about 3000 to 1000 BC, since the name “Dionysus” exists nowhere other than Crete and Greece.

What little we do know is acquired from descriptions, wall paintings, images on ancient pottery and cross-cultural studies.

 

 

Again, as with the Eleusinian Mysteries, the rites were based on a seasonal death-rebirth theme.

Some claim the cult of Dionysus was created by Orpheus, a musician, poet and prophet in Greek mythology, for whom the so-called Orphic mysteries or Orphism, were named after.

Many rituals thought to be part of the Orphic Mysteries are said to actually belong to the Dionysian mysteries.

The core of Orphism is the suffering and death of Dionysus at the hands of the Titans.

 

 

The birth of Dionysus:

Version One

 

 

The birth of Dionysus, of which he is said to have had two, or even three (the name, Dionysus, actually translates to mean “twice born”), is celebrated on 25th December and is followed by twelve days of worship when, on each of the twelve days, one of the Olympian Gods is also honoured.

There are usually a myriad of different accounts surrounding ancient Greek stories and myths some often conflicting.

You can understand, in the case of Dionysus, how the idea of him having two or in some versions even three births certainly  complicates things.

 

Persephone

 

Diodorus, first century B.C. Greek historian, thought there may have been two gods named Dionysus and would have us believe he was the offspring of Zeus, king of all Greek gods and Persephone; queen of the underworld, who also happened to be the daughter of Zeus.

This ties in with later versions of the same Dionysus (but named as Zagreus). who was worshiped by the Orphics and torn apart by the Titans only to be reborn, which is told by Latin author Hyginus (64 BC – AD 17) and Greek epic poet of Panopolis, (fifth century AD).

 The myth of the ripping apart of Dionysus by the Titans, instigated by Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, was mentioned as early as the fourth century BC by Plato in his work; Phaedo.

Another version has Dionysus to be the child of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of agriculture, who was the mother of Persephone.

After being torn limb from limb and boiled up in a pot by the Titans, Demeter is said to have gathered up what remained of Dionysus and brought him back to life.

In retaliation for killing his son, Zeus attacked the Titans and imprisoned them in Tartarus, the Underworld, causing the mother of the Titans, Gaia; Mother Earth, to instill upon the world fires, floods and boiling seas.

Zeus took pity on Gaia and in order to save the burning land, caused The Deucalion Deluge; great rains which  flooded the world.

 

The birth of Dionysus:

Version Two

 

 

Semele

 

Hyginus writes: after Dionysus was torn apart by the Titans, Zeus collected the pieces of his heart which he then put into a drink and gave to Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes.

After drinking the concoction Semele found herself to be pregnant, whereupon Hera, queen of goddesses and wife of Zeus, appeared before Semele, in the guise of her nurse, advising her to ask Zeus:

“to come to you as he comes to Hera, so you may know what pleasure it is to sleep with a god.“.

On asking Zeus to show her what gods were made of Semele was instantly felled by a thunderbolt.

Zeus then removed the unborn child from the womb of the unfortunate Semele, sewed him into his own thigh and as soon as he was born had baby Dionysus carried away by Hermes, messenger of the gods, to the mythical Mount Nysa and placed him in the care of the satyr Silenus, an old and drunken demi-god.

In other versions of the tale Mount Nysa becomes Mount Kithairon in Boiotia or the island of Naxos or Thrace, or even far away Phoenicia.

 

 

 

The birth of Dionysus:

Version Three

 

 

Greek writer Nonnus of Panopolis tells us that after the Deluge; the great flood caused by Zeus, the world was a dismal place lacking in merriment, wine and dance and so Zeus declared he would send his son Dionysus to teach the mortals how grow grapes and make wine, which would put an end to their suffering.

There are many other accounts of the birth of Dionysus; all variations on a theme but I think you now have a general idea of the story.

The rest is history as they say; Dionysus grew up to be the first to discover the art of wine making.

 

The Wandering Dionysus

 

Hera, the jealous and vengeful wife of Zeus had not forgotten her husband’s illegitimate son and struck him with madness, driving him to wander the Earth, until, in Phrygia (today Asian Turkey) he came upon Rhea; the mother of gods and daughter of Gaia, who cured him.

Rhea, after teaching Dionysus her religious rites, sent him off to Asia to teach the people how to cultivate the vine.

The most famous part of his wanderings, said to have lasted several years, is his expedition to India.

These wandering explain why Dionysus was considered by many ancient academics to have been a foreigner, not a Greek, who one fine day popped up in ancient Greece.

 

Dionysus’ triumphant return to Greece

 

 

Upon his triumphant return from Asia to Greece Dionysus put all his efforts into a campaign aimed at selling his religion to the people of ancient Greece.

 Things did not go smoothly, his reputation as a drunken madman who hosted crazy, drug fueled parties had not been forgotten and Dionysus was about to encounter many trials and tribulations.

 

Pentheus

 

 

One myth, portrayed in the ancient Greek tragedy “The Bacchae”  or “The Bacchantes”,  by the Athenian playwright Euripides, has Dionysus returning to Thebes, his place of birth, which is ruled by Pentheus, grandson of Cadmus and nephew of Semele.

Pentheus, together with his mother, Agave and his aunts Ino and Autonoe, want nothing to do with this embarrassing family member, who claims to be of divine birth and they refuse to worship Dionysus and instead accuse him of leading the women of Thebes down a path of excessive indulgence and immorality.

In retaliation, Dionysus, with the use of his divine powers renders the women of Thebes insane, including Pentheus’ mother and aunts, whereupon they all rush off to Mount Cithaeron in a Bacchic frenzy.

 

 

Dionysus then suggests Pentheus might like to spy on the women, who are now in a state of ecstasy.

 Rubbing his hands together in anticipation of witnessing orgies galore, Pentheus jumps at the chance and with no further ado, hides himself in a tree and waits eagerly for the show to begin.

It seems Pentheus had not concealed himself adequately, or maybe he became aroused and threw caution to the wind, either way, Cadmus’s daughters spots him and mistaking him for a wild animal, they tear him limb from limb.

Once it was discovered that the “wild animal” was none other than Pentheus and some say, that his own mother, had been one of the first to attack, all the women were exiled from Thebes.

The Roman poet, Ovid, in his Metamorphoses tells a slightly different story:

Pentheus was warned by the blind prophet Tiresias, that if he did not welcome the divine Dionysus with open arms; “his blood would pour out and defile the woods and his mother and her sisters.”

 

Acoetes the sailor

 

Pentheus ignored the warning of the blind prophet Tiresias and as he witnesses his kingdom surrender to the “dementia and the delirium of the new god“, demands the arrest of Dionysus.

Mistakenly his guards arrest Acoetes of Maeonia, a sailor, who after seeing the entire crew of his ship transformed into dolphins after attempting to kidnap the god Dionysus, had become a follower of Dionysus

 

 

Not believing a word that Acoetes said, Pentheus orders his guards to throw the lying sailor into the dungeons but as quickly as the guards could restrain him, just as quickly the chains mysteriously dropped off.

In a raging fury Pentheus decides to do the job himself and quickly makes his way through the woods to the dungeons and ran straight into the middle of a full-blown Bacchanalia.

The intoxicated party-goers, his mother among them, mistaking him for a wild boar tore him to pieces with their bare hands.

 

Descending to Hades and Ascending to Mount Olympus

 

 

Pausanias, Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD, writes of how Dionysus descended into Hades, the Underworld, in order to rescue his mother, Semele and bring her back to the world of the living, so that she may take her rightful place on Mount Olympus, home of the ancient Greek gods.

After rescuing his mother, Semele from Hades Dionysus renamed her Thyone, meaning “the one who inspires frenzy” and ascended with her to heaven where she became immortal and was allowed to live on Olympus among the other gods.

 She was thereafter worshipped as Thyone, the goddess of inspired frenzy or rage.

This move is said to have proved Dionysus’ divine ancestry allowing him also to live among the Gods of Mount Olympus.

 

Comparisons between The Dyonisia and the Ancient Greek God Dionysus and Christmas and Jesus Christ

 

This then is the lowdown on the life and times of the decadent, Dionysus, ancient Greek God of wine.

Many historians, academics and philosophers compare the story to that of the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ and believe it to be the ancient Greek origins of Christmas as we celebrate it today.

Both stories have the theme, if not exactly the same, of birth, death and resurrection of a divine character.

Both were born of gods, heavenly fathers and theoretically both were born of virgins on the 25^th December: Jesus from the Virgin Mary and Dionysus from Semele or maybe Persephone or Demeter also called kore, who represented a virgin goddess.

Both died and were brought back to life.

Dionysus was a traveling teacher who performed miracles, as did Jesus Christ.

Dionysus was seen in ancient Greece as Father, Liberator and Savior, as was Jesus Christ to the Christians.

Dionysus rode home to Greece to meet his worshipers in a triumphal procession; it may have been on a leopard, not a donkey but you can see the parallel here with Jesus riding triumphantly into Jerusalem.

The climax of the twelve Days of Dionysus, which began on the 25^th of December, the winter Solstice, was the Epiphany of Dionysus, on the 6th of January (the baptism of Jesus Christ) and the honoring of the twelve ancient Olympian gods: the twelve apostles?

Both Dionysus and Jesus Christ after many trying times, eventually rose to heaven.

I dare say these comparisons will enrage enough died-in-the-wool, devout Christians but it is what is, who really knows anything for sure?

Many Greek myths are repeated in the Old Testament, or is it Old Testament stories repeated in Greek mythology?

Which comes first?

The chicken or the egg?